1. Field
The present invention is directed to engine operation and maintenance. It finds particular, although not exclusive, application to piston-engine aircraft.
2. Background Information
A large volume of personal travel occurs by air. For destinations of any distance, it is almost always the fastest travel mode and, in terms of injuries per passenger mile, the safest. The relative safety of that air transportation mode results from a number of factors. Among these are the stringent maintenance requirements that are imposed upon civil aviation.
Although such requirements have contributed to the high level of safety that the flying public enjoys, that safety has come at a cost. And this cost is particularly evident in relatively low-volume, short-distance routes. Air travel by major commercial carriers between lower-population locales has tended to be limited or unavailable since such routes can be supported most cost-effectively by small aircraft in, e.g., “air-taxi” or “air-cab” services. Although such services are beginning to be deployed in the United States, the amount of travel that would be economical on such routes would be greater if the maintenance cost per airplane could be reduced while simultaneously enhancing operational safety.